Dangerous everyday objects

[~christina~]

I find that many objects are hazardous. (they seem quite harmless untill..)

For example:

Food category

Tootsie Roll Pops => I find that, after licking the lollipop a few times, I always get shards of the candy in my tongue.
Jolly Rancher Hard candy => A swallowing risk is involved when you melt the candy untill it's small and thin. Shards of the candy can become embedded in tongue as well, I find.

Everyday items

Paper=> Paper cuts anyone?

Can anyone think of anymore hazardous items in our everyday lives that seem harmless enough?

[rootX]

air ... LOL!

and everything that you can touch :)

[TeTeC]

- You'll kill us... with a soup cup?
- Tea, actually.
- What's that?
- I'll kill you with my teacup.

[wolram]

Ones own teeth, i am all ways bite ing my tongue.

[Alfi]

Paper cuts will be the death of me

Twice today! *ouch*

:)

[BobG]

Can anyone think of anymore hazardous items in our everyday lives that seem harmless enough?

Paper shredders. Never wear a tie around those things. A person's head will never fit down the little slot, but most people panic anyway. The panic attack can result in serious neck strain.

Legos, especially on the stairs .... especially if walking barefoot down the stairs with a cup of coffee.

Complex math problems. They're always fun until someone loses an i.

[wolram]

Crisps/potato chips are another, get a sliver of one wedged between your teeth and it is most annoying.

Stop eating candy christina, it will ruin your complexion.

[jimmysnyder]

Atoms. One decayed once, and my cat died.

[turbo-1]

I have a healthy respect for the pretty little peppers. My kitchen is a haz-mat zone whenever I make habanero relish. The simplest little things, like absent-mindedly scratching an itch can result in surprises.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x318/turbo-1/rinsedhabaneros.jpg

[mgb_phys]

habanero relish. The simplest little things, like absent-mindedly scratching an itch can result in surprises.
You're lucky it's just an itch.
How do you tell an organic chemist?
They are the ones that wash their hands BEFORE they go to the bathroom.

[DaveC426913]

Paper shredders. Never wear a tie around those things. A person's head will never fit down the little slot, but most people panic anyway.
Uh, I'm not sure that people actually fear having their head chopped into confetti (though I'll bet a shredded lip or nose might not be so much fun, even if unlikely).

However, I do think they quite reasonably fear being choked by their own tie.

[DaveC426913]

Atoms. One decayed once, and my cat died.

:biggrin:


:uhh:
How do you know it wasn't already dead? :rofl:

[turbo-1]

You're lucky it's just an itch.
How do you tell an organic chemist?
They are the ones that wash their hands BEFORE they go to the bathroom.When I was a process chemist in a Kraft pulp mill, I was VERY religious about the before-and-after hand-washing. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that when you are handling extracts from the system (black liquor from the digester, for instance) you are dealing with some extremely complex stuff, the health effects of which have never been studied in depth.

[Ivan Seeking]

Can anyone think of anymore hazardous items in our everyday lives that seem harmless enough?

Kittens. They are ankle-biting demons from hell.

[Alfi]

:biggrin:


:uhh:
How do you know it wasn't already dead? :rofl:

Had to look ... Ya just had to look. :rofl:


You cat killer you :biggrin:

[B. Elliott]

I have a healthy respect for the pretty little peppers. My kitchen is a haz-mat zone whenever I make habanero relish. The simplest little things, like absent-mindedly scratching an itch can result in surprises.

When I was young, my grandfather was a pepper enthusiast and had quite a few different types in his back yard. One day I decided to check out a few of the peppers, so I proceeded hold a few of them and spin them around while still on their stems to get an up close look. Well, I was pretty allergic to pollen at the time, so at one point I gave both of my eyes a pretty good rub. WHAM! I don't think i've ever experienced a pain like that before. I remember laying on a couch for hours with a wet rag on my eyes, crying out because they stung so bad.

I literally hated peppers up until my early 20's where I, out of nowhere, seemed to develop a taste for them. Now I just about can't eat anything without straight peppers or at least pepper seasoning on it. The hotter the better!

[turbo-1]

Had to look ... Ya just had to look. :rofl:


You cat killer you :biggrin:Had to look and collapse kitty's wave-form...bad.

[turbo-1]

I literally hated peppers up until my early 20's where I, out of nowhere, seemed to develop a taste for them. Now I just about can't eat anything without straight peppers or at least pepper seasoning on it. The hotter the better!Visit the "turbo-1's hot stuff" thread and get the recipe for making habanero relish. I'm about the only person who'll eat it apart from my brother and a neighbor - both chili-heads. Math Jeans swears by it and Astronuc likes it, too. You can make it in small batches and refrigerate it, or make larger batches like I do and process the canning jars in a boiling-water bath.

[edward]

My son once accidentally shut his wifes cat in their bottom freezer refrigerator.

They found the frosted cat after hearing a strange muffled sound coming from the fridge.

[edward]

The little heating element on coffee makers stays hot for quite some time after it is shut off.

[turbo-1]

The stainless steel basket on my espresso maker is heavy and after a mug's worth of boiling water and saturated steam has passed through it - it's a good idea to put it in the sink to cool off before scooping out the espresso grounds.

[phyzmatix]

My son once accidentally shut his wifes cat in their bottom freezer refrigerator.

They found the frosted cat after hearing a strange muffled sound coming from the fridge.

This shouldn't be funny...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[B. Elliott]

Visit the "turbo-1's hot stuff" thread and get the recipe for making habanero relish. I'm about the only person who'll eat it apart from my brother and a neighbor - both chili-heads. Math Jeans swears by it and Astronuc likes it, too. You can make it in small batches and refrigerate it, or make larger batches like I do and process the canning jars in a boiling-water bath.

I'm going to have to make some and try it out. Just yesterday I picked a batch of plums and figs of our trees out back, so i've been on a bit of a home produce kick since then.:smile: The apples on our five-in-one apple tree are starting look nice, but not as big as expected. A friend suggested going ahead and pulling half of them to help the remainders grow better... that and something about it helping the overall tree grow larger next year.

[turbo-1]

I'm going to have to make some and try it out. Just yesterday I picked a batch of plums and figs of our trees out back, so i've been on a bit of a home produce kick since then.:smile: The apples on our five-in-one apple tree are starting look nice, but not as big as expected. A friend suggested going ahead and pulling half of them to help the remainders grow better... that and something about it helping the overall tree grow larger next year.Another thing you should do is prune off all the sun-suckers - new growth that is vegetative, but did not blossom this year. They generally shoot up vertically, and they can shade other more productive branches that are not sapping the tree's energy with rapid growth-spurts. Good productive apple trees are usually quite "open" and are not overly leafy with new growth.

When I thin apples, I pick the apples that are the smallest, or that seem to have any damage or deformity first. Don't discard them near your trees because they can be a source of insect damage/disease. If they're not ripe enough to be usable, I like to run them through a food processor and dump them in the compost bins.

[Moonbear]

Uh, I'm not sure that people actually fear having their head chopped into confetti (though I'll bet a shredded lip or nose might not be so much fun, even if unlikely).

However, I do think they quite reasonably fear being choked by their own tie.

Then ties should definitely be in the list. The only thing they're useful as are bibs for the sloppy men who would otherwise spill food on their shirts. :biggrin:

Kittens. They are ankle-biting demons from hell.
:rofl: Does she do the sneak attack from behind the sofa trick? I STILL get that one every once in a while.

I'll include cat TOYS on the list too. Similar to the dangers of Legos.

[turbo-1]

I'll include cat TOYS on the list too. Similar to the dangers of Legos.No need to include ferret toys. Ferrets put away their toys after playing with them, stashed in "secret" locations. They LOVE hiding stuff.

[Ivan Seeking]

:rofl: Does she do the sneak attack from behind the sofa trick? I STILL get that one every once in a while.

At this point, if I don't have shoes on, it is virtually impossible to walk without snagging a very sharp foot attachment. And what absolutely cracks me up is the aggression. You would think that my foot is the most terrible thing on the planet, and that it MUST die.

[lisab]

You would think that my foot is the most terrible thing on the planet, and that it MUST die.

Does she hold it with her front paws, bite your ankle, and kick with her back legs...? That's what my Sweet Miss Phoebe does...I love her so much :!!) !

[Borek]

At first I though it is Evo related thread...

Open door can be a killer thing. In the dark, when you think you are just moving paralell to the wall and you hit door edge with your head. I broke my teeth last year this way.

Well, I broke this teeth over 20 years ago, so this time it was more pricey than painful.

[Evo]

Dangerous items: shoes, pillows, furniture, wall corners, doors...

[turbo-1]

Dangerous items: shoes, pillows, furniture, wall corners, doors...For Evo, dangerous items include bubble wrap, sweatshirts, comfy slippers, Styrofoam insulation, life-jackets, potting soil,... Shall I continue? There is nothing that this woman cannot use to injure herself, including cotton balls and bath towels.

[TheStatutoryApe]

Does she hold it with her front paws, bite your ankle, and kick with her back legs...? That's what my Sweet Miss Phoebe does...I love her so much :!!) !

My moms cat used to like to run under and around peoples feet while they walked. I don't know how many times I almost fell on my face trying to avoid stepping on her. I think she finally got tired of getting kicked around though.

[binzing]

For Evo: The damned strangest things, or everything just to be safe.

[Ivan Seeking]

Does she hold it with her front paws, bite your ankle, and kick with her back legs...? That's what my Sweet Miss Phoebe does...I love her so much :!!) !

No, she likes to rabbit kick when she attacks my hand, but my feet are dedicated to ankle-biting.

They are so much fun. :biggrin: But I told Tsu that I know why they are so cute: They have to be or we would kill them!

[lisab]

No, she likes to rabbit kick when she attacks my hand, but my feet are dedicated to ankle-biting.

They are so much fun. :biggrin: But I told Tsu that I know why they are so cute: They have to be or we would kill them!

And the irony is if we were the size of a rat, we'd be their dinner :surprised !

[Ivan Seeking]

And the irony is if we were the size of a rat, we'd be their dinner :surprised !

It would probably be humiliating to know what goes on in their little heads. I am sure that we rank about as high as a paper bag and a bowl of food.

[Phrak]

When I was young, my grandfather was a pepper enthusiast and had quite a few different types in his back yard. One day I decided to check out a few of the peppers, so I proceeded hold a few of them and spin them around while still on their stems to get an up close look. Well, I was pretty allergic to pollen at the time, so at one point I gave both of my eyes a pretty good rub. WHAM! I don't think i've ever experienced a pain like that before. I remember laying on a couch for hours with a wet rag on my eyes, crying out because they stung so bad.

I literally hated peppers up until my early 20's where I, out of nowhere, seemed to develop a taste for them. Now I just about can't eat anything without straight peppers or at least pepper seasoning on it. The hotter the better!

While disecting peppers, excercise caution if you require a bathroom break.

[Borek]

While disecting peppers, excercise caution if you require a bathroom break.

And don't pick your nose.

[~christina~]

Stop eating candy christina, it will ruin your complexion.

lol, I used to eat candy untill I found that it was so dangerous.

[~christina~]

At first I though it is Evo related thread...

Open door can be a killer thing. In the dark, when you think you are just moving paralell to the wall and you hit door edge with your head. I broke my teeth last year this way.

Well, I broke this teeth over 20 years ago, so this time it was more pricey than painful.

ow...I hope it was just one tooth?

I seem to try to go and open the light and I swing my hand over and...slam it on the adjacent wall. Hand goes numb for awhile.

[rootX]

ow...I hope it was just one tooth?

I seem to try to go and open the light and I swing my hand over and...slam it on the adjacent wall. Hand goes numb for awhile.

I always wonder why it hurts so much when we hit things unintentionally.

When, I hit wall on purpose, I don't feel any pain but moving in dark and hitting object[pointy ones particularly] gives big pain!

[~christina~]

When, I hit wall on purpose, I don't feel any pain but moving in dark and hitting object[pointy ones particularly] gives big pain!

I have to say that it might be due to us knowing that we are going to hit something so we are mentally prepared for the hit as opposed to us hitting something unintentionally.

[DaveC426913]

I always wonder why it hurts so much when we hit things unintentionally.

When, I hit wall on purpose, I don't feel any pain but moving in dark and hitting object[pointy ones particularly] gives big pain!

when it is intentional, you
1] brace yourself, turning the muscles into more efficient shock absorbers
2] use a part of your body (such as the flesh-padded side of your fist) that won't feel as much pain as another part (such as your toe).
3] may unconsciously recoil, hoping to avoid pain/damage

[mgb_phys]

The most dangerous object in the world - in the dark
http://www.richmond.ac.uk/images/resources/itav/av-equipment/uk-plug.jpg

And an early example of it's use
http://www.geocities.com/barensteel/SH12-7.gif

[Borek]

ow...I hope it was just one tooth?

One. But it was already a troubled one. I have a weak teeth. As we say in Poland - teeth like pearls, hole in each. Or more like filling in each.

[binzing]

That's why ours are better here in the US!

[~christina~]

One. But it was already a troubled one. I have a weak teeth. As we say in Poland - teeth like pearls, hole in each. Or more like filling in each.

:yuck: lol

Can I say that this is a reason not to eat candy?

[Moonbear]

One. But it was already a troubled one. I have a weak teeth. As we say in Poland - teeth like pearls, hole in each. Or more like filling in each.

Oh, so I should blame the Polish side of my family for that? I thought it was the British side. Or maybe my Polish mom and partly British dad just doomed me to bad teeth from the start. :uhh: :grumpy:

[Borek]

Can I say that this is a reason not to eat candy?

You mean - candy like a dangerous everyday object? :rofl:

I am just back from my dentist BTW. But it is not that bad now. Somehow the worst time was in my University times, I wonder if it was not because of chemicals.

[f95toli]

I find that many objects are hazardous. (they seem quite harmless untill..)


Doors....
Back when I had the Health and Safety introduction at the place where I work I was quite surprised by the fact that they spent so much time talking about doors, mainly about how we should avoid hitting someone in the face when opening one.
The weird thing is that it turns out that the doors ARE the most dangerous "tools" where I work (and I work at a research institute where we handle cryogenic liquids, high voltages/currents, radioactive samples, nasty chemicals etc). The thing is that there are a LOT of doors where I work, whoever designed the building really went to great lengths to reduce the risk of a fire in one of the labs spreading via the corridors. However, this also means that you spend a lot of time opening doors (I have to open 12 doors just walking from from my office to the lab) and when people are in a hurry they tend to just push them open (there are no handles) as fast as they can, meaning loitering in front of a closed door is a really bad idea
So far I have been hit twice, and according to the annual incident report I am not the only one...

[mgb_phys]

Doors....
The weird thing is that it turns out that the doors ARE the most dangerous "tools" where I work (and I work at a research institute where we handle cryogenic liquids, high voltages/currents, radioactive samples, nasty chemicals etc).

Me too - we had a nice old quaint little lab in a 150 year old building, with real mercury barometers until HSE found us.
They insisted on replacing the glass in our glass panel doors because it didn't meet standards, then it was decided that the replacement solid doors were dangerous because you could hit someone, so they put back the original doors with all the panels except one replaced by wood. In a university of course this took most of a year.


My best story, I was working in a goverment lab that handles really dangerous stuff ( smoking crater dangerous), the management of the lab was going to be handed over to a private contractor so it suddenly had to meet safety standards (the goverment is exempt!)
We had to have an extra fire door fitted to our upper story lab - which they did.
But the building exterior was still goverment managed and they didn't have to fit the fire escape.
So fire exit door -> 20 foot drop.
So we locked the door and put tape accross it, "Do Not Use" Signs etc...
Next safety audit = can't have a locked/blocked fire door.
As far as I know it's still there.

[wolram]

One time i had to change a motor on one of the machines, to change the motor one has to wriggle inside it through a door at floor level, there are all manner of things in the way, any how when extracting my self half in half out my hand slipped and i caught my back.
The accident report said, hand slipped on floor hurt back.

[~christina~]

You mean - candy like a dangerous everyday object? :rofl:

Yes, that candy that does this =>http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/voodoo-knife-holder.jpg

I am just back from my dentist BTW. But it is not that bad now. Somehow the worst time was in my University times, I wonder if it was not because of chemicals.
That's good but:
oh no... is it because of improper handling of chemicals? :frown:(starting to think about the hazards of lab and if it's safe to pursue a chemistry occupation*)

[kingdomof]

Yes, that candy that does this =>http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/voodoo-knife-holder.jpg

That's good but:
oh no... is it because of improper handling of chemicals? :frown:(starting to think about the hazards of lab and if it's safe to pursue a chemistry occupation*)

What's wrong? A little cancer scaring you? Hah!

[Borek]

is it because of improper handling of chemicals? :frown:(starting to think about the hazards of lab and if it's safe to pursue a chemistry occupation*)

Don't compare safety standards in the contemporary lab in US and in the lab back in eighties in Poland.

My feeling is that most of these todays lab regulations save 1 life in a year, impeding thousands of experiments at the same time. Overregulation is a word that comes to mind. Signum temporis.

[BobG]

Me too - we had a nice old quaint little lab in a 150 year old building, with real mercury barometers until HSE found us.
They insisted on replacing the glass in our glass panel doors because it didn't meet standards, then it was decided that the replacement solid doors were dangerous because you could hit someone, so they put back the original doors with all the panels except one replaced by wood. In a university of course this took most of a year.


My best story, I was working in a goverment lab that handles really dangerous stuff ( smoking crater dangerous), the management of the lab was going to be handed over to a private contractor so it suddenly had to meet safety standards (the goverment is exempt!)
We had to have an extra fire door fitted to our upper story lab - which they did.
But the building exterior was still goverment managed and they didn't have to fit the fire escape.
So fire exit door -> 20 foot drop.
So we locked the door and put tape accross it, "Do Not Use" Signs etc...
Next safety audit = can't have a locked/blocked fire door.
As far as I know it's still there.
Doors are only a safety hazard for dorks.

We had a stairway door that opened into a main hallway with the same regs about the door not having a window. If finally occurred to someone that if the door were moved to exit out the side of the stairwell, the door would open into a much less travelled hallway around the corner with almost no difference in how far you have to travel to evacuate.

Our CE folks were very efficient and they completed the entire job in one weekend. The new doorway was installed and looked like it had been there forever. You had to look very close to even tell there was ever a door opening into the main hallway.

The following Monday morning was hilarious. A lot of second floor folks (and even some third floor folks) took the stairway instead of the elevator each morning. Well over half figured out something was drastically different before they reached the old doorway. Some tried the door to the left of the old one, but weren't very surprised to find it was only the door to the broom closet. Most correctly figured out that they were more likely to find the door around the corner.

The funny ones were the ones that realized there was no door at the point they were walking towards and seamlessly adjusted their path to the door on the left. Just a normal Monday morning until they open the "stairway" door to find a broom closet. :bugeye:

[Moonbear]

Doors....
Back when I had the Health and Safety introduction at the place where I work I was quite surprised by the fact that they spent so much time talking about doors, mainly about how we should avoid hitting someone in the face when opening one.
The weird thing is that it turns out that the doors ARE the most dangerous "tools" where I work (and I work at a research institute where we handle cryogenic liquids, high voltages/currents, radioactive samples, nasty chemicals etc). The thing is that there are a LOT of doors where I work, whoever designed the building really went to great lengths to reduce the risk of a fire in one of the labs spreading via the corridors. However, this also means that you spend a lot of time opening doors (I have to open 12 doors just walking from from my office to the lab) and when people are in a hurry they tend to just push them open (there are no handles) as fast as they can, meaning loitering in front of a closed door is a really bad idea
So far I have been hit twice, and according to the annual incident report I am not the only one...

Did they put in doors that swing both directions? (You said no handles.) :confused: Fire regulations everywhere I've lived require that doors open out toward the direction of the exit. So, if you have to pull a door toward you when trying to evacuate a building, turn around and go the other way.

But, if they swing both directions, that 1) gives you no hint which way to walk unless you've memorized the building map and 2) makes it completely unpredictable which way a door might swing if you're walking toward it.

As for people who stand and talk too close to doors, one should always open the door with as much force as possible. That way they are thrown clear from the doorway when you hit them and don't become a trip hazard too. :approve: :biggrin: I don't know why people do that, but it seems a lot just stop and stand behind doors to chat. Where I work, for some reason, students seem to stand in the stairwells behind the doors to talk on their cell phones. This I really don't understand, because I think the worst reception is in the stairwell, they're clearly in the way of the flow of traffic in the stairwells, and if they were seeking a place to have a private conversation, I'm not sure that having it travel up all 8 floors is any more private than if they just stepped outside or stayed in the hallway. :confused:

By the way, windows in doors are useless when they are that tiny square window placed about 5 ft from the floor...too high for us short people to see through, or be seen through. :rolleyes: A long window near the edge that opens is more useful.

[~christina~]

Don't compare safety standards in the contemporary lab in US and in the lab back in eighties in Poland.

My feeling is that most of these todays lab regulations save 1 life in a year, impeding thousands of experiments at the same time. Overregulation is a word that comes to mind. Signum temporis.

I don't know about that, but my relatives are very old and they have worked in the chemistry backround for a long time and are now retired and are okay still.

We don't use masks so I don't know how to avoid getting the chemicals in contact with ones teeth. We do however, use Nitrile gloves in the lab.

Can you also define Signum temporis? I looked it up and I still cannot find the meaning/definition.

[Moonbear]

Can you also define Signum temporis?

A sign of the time.

[~christina~]

A sign of the time.

Thanks Moonbear

[DaveC426913]

My feeling is that most of these todays lab regulations save 1 life in a year, impeding thousands of experiments at the same time. Overregulation is a word that comes to mind. Signum temporis.I guess you can put a price on a life... :rolleyes:

[Danger]

Staples. I quite frequently don't have the patience to find the staple remover, and so unfold them and extract them by hand. It makes for a lot of punctures in my fingers.
Rice Krispees. No personal experience, but I remember when Bobby Goldsboro was on the Mike Douglas show back in the 70's. He was relating examples of what a klutz he was, and mentioned one time that a Rice Krispee escaped the bowl and hardened into the carpet. He then encountered it barefooted, and sliced his toe open on it.

[phyzmatix]

Rice Krispee escaped the bowl and hardened into the carpet. He then encountered it barefooted, and sliced his toe open on it.

And there we were thinking that Chuck Norris is dangerous!

:rofl:

[Danger]

I'd rather face Chuckie than an enraged Rice Krispee any day.

[TheStatutoryApe]

Dangerous everyday object: episode of Walker Texas Ranger.

[Borek]

We don't use masks so I don't know how to avoid getting the chemicals in contact with ones teeth.

It is not about chemicals contacting teeth, rather about chemicals lowering general immunity.

[Borek]

I guess you can put a price on a life... :rolleyes:

We are constantly getting told that life is priceless. That's completely different discussion, but I have my doubts.

You can't move ahead without looses. General approach that everything can be done without any risk leads to absurds. Chemistry teachers have problems with finding experiments that will be not considered too dangerous. Test tubes are dangerous because you can cut your finger. That's ridiculous.

[Danger]

We are constantly getting told that life is priceless.

This is in line with the thinking of the late, great George Carlin... one who made observational humour.
Price = Worth, for the most part.
So why is something that's priceless more important than something that's worthless?

[BobG]

Staples. I quite frequently don't have the patience to find the staple remover, and so unfold them and extract them by hand. It makes for a lot of punctures in my fingers.
Rice Krispees. No personal experience, but I remember when Bobby Goldsboro was on the Mike Douglas show back in the 70's. He was relating examples of what a klutz he was, and mentioned one time that a Rice Krispee escaped the bowl and hardened into the carpet. He then encountered it barefooted, and sliced his toe open on it.

Which kind was it: one that went snap, crackle, or pop? Probably one of the crackle ones - those even sound dangerous.

[arildno]

I find that many objects are hazardous. (they seem quite harmless untill..)

For example:

Food category

Tootsie Roll Pops => I find that, after licking the lollipop a few times, I always get shards of the candy in my tongue.
Jolly Rancher Hard candy => A swallowing risk is involved when you melt the candy untill it's small and thin. Shards of the candy can become embedded in tongue as well, I find.

Everyday items

Paper=> Paper cuts anyone?

Can anyone think of anymore hazardous items in our everyday lives that seem harmless enough?

Sexy males?

[Moonbear]

Sexy males?

Yep, and they make the doors more dangerous too, staring at them and not noticing you're walking into a door, not to mention the puddle of drool on the ground that someone could slip on. :biggrin: :tongue2:

[~christina~]

We are constantly getting told that life is priceless. That's completely different discussion, but I have my doubts.
So, Borek..how much is your life worth :wink:

You can't move ahead without looses. General approach that everything can be done without any risk leads to absurds. Chemistry teachers have problems with finding experiments that will be not considered too dangerous. Test tubes are dangerous because you can cut your finger. That's ridiculous.

That's very true. It could also be the explanation of why I never had a chemistry class untill college. (we had a lab in lower school but it had absolutely no chemicals and everything chemistry related on paper :rolleyes: )

It is not about chemicals contacting teeth, rather about chemicals lowering general immunity.
I am at risk then.

[DaveC426913]

So, Borek..how much is your life worth :wink:

Yep. Christina's right.

For how many experiments that advance our knowledge would you give up your own life? If you knew your life were standing in the way of - what? 10? 20? 50? - experiments, would you offer it? :wink:

[Borek]

So, Borek..how much is your life worth :wink:

15 years ago I have been visited by insurance agent and he calculated it. Methodology used was "how much does it cost to make sure your kid will be able to start on its own". TLV limits are calculated with some approximation of life worth (or rather cost of the therapy, be it necessary, but it they assume limit of the therapy cost, that translates to your life worth).

So, if you know where to look, there is a price tag. It is not advertised, but nonetheless it exists.

That's very true. It could also be the explanation of why I never had a chemistry class untill college. (we had a lab in lower school but it had absolutely no chemicals and everything chemistry related on paper :rolleyes: )

Some time ago someone on some other forum told a story about his daugther taking art class in sculpture, where they were not allowed to use sharp knifes, because they could harm themselves. It made some of the tasks they should perform impossible. That's part of the same problem.

[DaveC426913]

15 years ago I have been visited by insurance agent and he calculated it. Methodology used was "how much does it cost to make sure your kid will be able to start on its own". TLV limits are calculated with some approximation of life worth (or rather cost of the therapy, be it necessary, but it they assume limit of the therapy cost, that translates to your life worth).

So, if you know where to look, there is a price tag. It is not advertised, but nonetheless it exists.Not the same thing at all. As you acknowledge, insurance is very careful to limit itself to replacing income potential in the family unit. That can in no way be compared to the price of a person, especially in the context of "how many lives can we afford to lose to keep research going?"

[Borek]

Let me reverse your question - "can we afford to stop the research to not risk any loses?" For example Chinese will have no doubts about, they will push ahead and can pass us without trouble. Can we afford it?

In fact it is not about loss of life, it is about throwing kid with a bath. We are getting paralysed thanks to our efforts to minimalize risks of every kind, real and imaginary. I have nothing against reasonable regulations that minimalize risks, but at some point they become absurd. For example when we start to require students to use gloves for handling 1M sodium chloride, but we have nothing against the same students engaged in wrestling or futball. Somewhere on the road we have lost a balance.

That's much longer discussion and I am afraid my English is too weak to express myself properly.

[~christina~]

In fact it is not about loss of life, it is about throwing kid with a bath. We are getting paralysed thanks to our efforts to minimalize risks of every kind, real and imaginary. I have nothing against reasonable regulations that minimalize risks, but at some point they become absurd. For example when we start to require students to use gloves for handling 1M sodium chloride, but we have nothing against the same students engaged in wrestling or futball. Somewhere on the road we have lost a balance.
I handled 1M H2SO4 with gloves but I also handled more potent things during the same day as well. I think it's not so much the danger of 1M NaCl but rather the idea of safety in whatevery you do, no matter the risk factor. (it builds up good habits)

That's much longer discussion and I am afraid my English is too weak to express myself properly.
It is understandable and if you can type a whole paragraph, well..

So, if you know where to look, there is a price tag. It is not advertised, but nonetheless it exists.
If you say there is a price, how much would you pay to purchase someone like a mother/father/child.

[Borek]

Please stop asking me "How much would you give for" and "what's the price of". I don't know the answer to that question and I have never stated I know. What I am stating is that whether we like it or not there are many ways of calculating life worth, that are used in different places. Be it life insurance, be it health insurance, be it estimates of loses due to war or natural cataclysms. Just because they are not advertised us such doesn't mean they don't exist. They rarely deal with the worth of individuals, rather with some generalization and statistics, but you can always divide to get an average. And I am not going to play the game in which I am pointing you to different methodologies used in different places and you are going to tell "that's not the life worth, because they concentrate on their gains/losses/aims and so on". In all these cases this is life worth from different points of view. You don't have to agree with each of these points of view, but they all deal with the same thing. Life worth.

Also note that I am not pretending to know the answer to the question "how many lives can we afford to lose to keep research going?" It is rather that I am aware of the question and its implications, and I wonder if we can afford to pretend that the question doesn't exist. Things neglected have tendency to change from bad to worse.

Finally, it is not simply a thing of research vs price tag on life. It is a much broader problem. Can you win a war without loosing soldiers? Does it make sense to implement systems dealing with specific pollutants that cost billions a year and potentially save 1 person per decade? Does it make sense to implement medical procedures that are irrationally costly?

Death was always part of our lives, and it won't change in the foreseeable future. We are doing everything to hide it from our view and to pretend we can trick it. Does it make sense to trick ouserlves that we can trick the death spending billions of dollars? Wont it be easier to accept the death as inevitable part of our lives? Accept that we will be getting older and then one day we will make place for others? Accept that everyone has to die one day and while it is better to die later, some of us will die earlier?

Could be I have stated it before - I am not against reasonable regulations that minimize risks. But we have gained momentum into enforcing more and more restrictive regulations. We are probably already past the common reason level and it doesn't look like we are going to stop, avalanche is just starting to speed up. That's in the name of false assumption that we can trick the death.

PS. I have spent over 30 minutes editing this post and I am still not sure it says what I wanted. That's why my English is an obstacle.

[lisab]

I understand your point, Borek, and I agree. We (meaning humans) aren't consistant in our approach to the value of life.

For example, when it comes to the perceived risk of chemical exposure, I find people to be irrational when it comes to calculating risk. But if we're late for work, we'll drive well over the speed limit - even though that's much, much riskier.

People rationalize some hazards, such as lighting fireworks or driving after a few drinks, but then do irrational things like wash their hands with anti-bacterial soap.

[~christina~]

Please stop asking me "How much would you give for" and "what's the price of". I don't know the answer to that question and I have never stated I know. What I am stating is that whether we like it or not there are many ways of calculating life worth, that are used in different places. Be it life insurance, be it health insurance, be it estimates of loses due to war or natural cataclysms. Just because they are not advertised us such doesn't mean they don't exist. They rarely deal with the worth of individuals, rather with some generalization and statistics, but you can always divide to get an average. And I am not going to play the game in which I am pointing you to different methodologies used in different places and you are going to tell "that's not the life worth, because they concentrate on their gains/losses/aims and so on". In all these cases this is life worth from different points of view. You don't have to agree with each of these points of view, but they all deal with the same thing. Life worth.
It was not my intention to offend and I apologize if I did. I did not take it too seriously and it was not a very serious conversation in my opinion. I will stop asking. There is a monetary worth put on everyone's head but not when it comes to one another. Value is put only put on individuals by companies that have to put a value on them.
(okay now you can whack me with a fish http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8264/shakefishfq0.gif

Death was always part of our lives, and it won't change in the foreseeable future. We are doing everything to hide it from our view and to pretend we can trick it. Does it make sense to trick ouserlves that we can trick the death spending billions of dollars? Wont it be easier to accept the death as inevitable part of our lives?
I absolutely agree with this. I have heard that people spend 60% of the money they have sete aside for health insurance during the last days of their lives. In the end, they die anyway and all the money cannot help.

[Borek]

I was not offended, I was just clarifying. I am not that easy to offend. Fish saved for more dense situations :wink:

[~christina~]

I was not offended, I was just clarifying. I am not that easy to offend. Fish saved for more dense situations :wink:
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/1406/whewcz2.gif

[stickythighs]

My son once accidentally shut his wifes cat in their bottom freezer refrigerator.

They found the frosted cat after hearing a strange muffled sound coming from the fridge.

An old lady in my neighborhood once put a wet cat in a microwave in order to dry the cat. The cat exploded. :cry: It was big news in our neighborhood. I was amazed at how many sickos there are. So many people thought it was funny

[BobG]

An old lady in my neighborhood once put a wet cat in a microwave in order to dry the cat. The cat exploded. :cry: It was big news in our neighborhood. I was amazed at how many sickos there are. So many people thought it was funny

The cat wouldn't have exploded. It would have died, but the old lady must not have stuck around for the cooking. Being microwaved is a slow, painful way to die. The cat would have let out many loud, long painful screams over the approximately 10 minutes it takes to kill a cat in a microwave.

Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat (http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436919)

[thomasxc]

how do you know how long it takes to kill a cat in a microwave?! pencils are dangerous. especially recently sharpened, needle like ones. i was flipping one on my desk. it landed wrong side up. it went pretty deep. i almost passed out in the nurses clinic. i still have graphite under my skin from it, and this was threee years ago.

[DaveC426913]

pencils are dangerous. especially recently sharpened, needle like ones. i was flipping one on my desk. it landed wrong side up. it went pretty deep.

How heavy was this pencil??? And how high did you throw it??

[DaveC426913]

The cat wouldn't have exploded. It would have died, but the old lady must not have stuck around for the cooking.I thought the same thing but didn't feel like dragging it out (the argument, not the cat).

[thomasxc]

it was a standard wood no.2 pencil. i was throwing it up about a foot or so. after i would slip it up, i woud try to slap it down on the desk. its kinda hard to explain.

[rootX]

The cat wouldn't have exploded. It would have died, but the old lady must not have stuck around for the cooking. Being microwaved is a slow, painful way to die. The cat would have let out many loud, long painful screams over the approximately 10 minutes it takes to kill a cat in a microwave.

Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat (http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436919)

Those teenagers should be microwaved for 5 minutes. :grumpy:

[thomasxc]

sometimes i find it hard to grasp just how epicly stupid people can be:-(

[Garth]

An old lady in my neighborhood once put a wet cat in a microwave in order to dry the cat. The cat exploded. :cry: It was big news in our neighborhood. I was amazed at how many sickos there are. So many people thought it was funny

Perhaps you are thinking about this myth: Microwaved poodles, McCoffee spills – and other phoney lawsuits (http://www.out-law.com/page-3396).

Apparently a cup of coffee is also a dangerous object.................

Garth

[DaveC426913]

...i woud try to slap it down on the desk.aaaaaaaaannnnd there's the other shoe... :rolleyes:


(wherein we learn that it is not the pencil that is the dangerous item in this scenario. The danger lies in the chair-pencil interface :biggrin:)

[thomasxc]

lol..../

[stickythighs]

The cat wouldn't have exploded. It would have died, but the old lady must not have stuck around for the cooking. Being microwaved is a slow, painful way to die. The cat would have let out many loud, long painful screams over the approximately 10 minutes it takes to kill a cat in a microwave.

Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat (http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436919)

All sources said that this cat exploded.

[~christina~]

How heavy was this pencil??? And how high did you throw it??

:rofl:

[~christina~]

The cat wouldn't have exploded. It would have died, but the old lady must not have stuck around for the cooking. Being microwaved is a slow, painful way to die. The cat would have let out many loud, long painful screams over the approximately 10 minutes it takes to kill a cat in a microwave.

Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat (http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436919)

:cry: This is so sad..I looked it up after and found this story.

I don't believe the story that the todler did this. If they first mention that they did not have the money to pay for medical bills or even to have the cat, what is the chance that they did not place it in there themselves?

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4709733&affil=wtnh

[hypatia]

I sprained my ankle early this morning on a slippery rawhide chewie, which somebodies dog left on the step down to the laundry room.:cry: